Research #2: Renee Davidson on the Success of Film Studios

For my second source of research, I assessed the report, “The High Cost of Hollywood’s Gender Bias”, published by the non-profit organization American Association of University Women. In this article, Renee Davidson, the digital communications manager for AAUW’s online content, focuses on how and why women are pigeonholed in the entertainment industry. Hollywood is seen as a male-driven world, which sends the terrifying message that women and girls will not be accepted here, as they are not what makes Hollywood successful. Oscar nominated directer Lexi Alexander gave an interview wrote an essay for Indiewire in 2014, in which she states, “there is NO lack of female directors,” but more or less there is a “HUGE lack of people willing to give female directors opportunities” (AAUW).

In fact, research shows that there are an EQUAL amount of women and men graduating from film schools across the country. However, women are offered LESS opportunities than men in the entertainment industry after graduating. According to a case study released by the University of California, Los Angeles, from 2012-2013, the studio heads from the top two hundred theatrical film releases during the year were “100 percent male”. Males believe that their only chance for success in Hollywood is to hire other males. If women were offered MORE opportunities in the entertainment industry, I believe that the films studios would be even more successful today.